Vasily Ivanovich Bazhenov is a Russian architect with a bright extraordinary talent and a peculiar mysterious fate. History ascribes to him many beautiful powerful buildings, while in reality he could not be their inspirer and creator. On the other hand, the original works of the architect Bazhenov amaze with the original creative imagination of the author, the originality of his style and the boldness of his ideas.

Who really was this outstanding mysterious architect? What is he famous for? And what is his true contribution to Russian art? Let's find out.

Childhood shrouded in mystery

The future architect Vasily Bazhenov was born in Moscow, in the family of a clergyman of the lowest rank - a deacon, who performs his duties in one of the small court churches of the Kremlin.

The year of birth of the future architect is not fully known. Many researchers tend to believe that this is 1738, although in some scientific literature it can be found as 1737 and even as 1732.

Be that as it may, little Vasya began to experience attraction to the fine arts from childhood. He loved to draw and sculpt all kinds of buildings and figurines, although at the behest of his parent he had to become an ordinary singer. Young Vasily even studied this position in the monastery, and only an accident dramatically changed his traditionally prepared fate.

Path to urban development

A local artist (whose name remained unknown) drew attention to Bazhenov's immature children's works and took him to study.

Just during this period, the imperial chambers in the suburbs of Moscow burned down, and then all the surrounding craftsmen were convened in order to restore the buildings as quickly as possible by order of Elizabeth Petrovna.

The sixteen-year-old future architect Bazhenov also contributed to the restoration of the noble choir. His talented, original wall painting drew the attention of Prince Dmitry Vasilievich Ukhtomsky, the chief architect of Moscow at that time. Thanks to this acquaintance, the gifted novice architect had the opportunity to listen to a course of lectures by his mentor, take an honorable place in his team and work under his supervision.

Mastery Technique Training

An influential benefactor made it possible for Bazhenov to carry out some orders on his own, and after some time he helped him enter the art class of the gymnasium established at Moscow University.

During the training, the talented Vasily confidently declared himself to be the best and diligent student. His zeal and talent did not go unnoticed by the well-known patron of the time - Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov, the favorite of the current Empress Elizabeth. Thanks to the patronage of the new patron, the novice architect Bazhenov was accepted to study at the Academy of Arts.

There, the young man's talent acquired the necessary virtuosity and literacy, thanks to which he became the first assistant to his teacher Chevakinsky (the chief architect of the Admiralty), when he worked on an extension to the St. Nicholas Sea Monastery.

After some time, the gifted young architect Bazhenov was sent to improve his skills abroad.

Study abroad

Deepening his knowledge and better understanding the art of architecture, the talented architect worked for several years in Paris and Rome, where he not only improved his design skills, but also developed his own projects. For his work and skills he was awarded several foreign certificates and diplomas.

They say that Louis XV himself invited the architect Bazhenov to work at his court. However, Vasily Ivanovich refused, placing great hopes on his homeland. There he was promised a professorship, a solid salary and many additional orders.

First work in Russia

Returning to Moscow, the architect Bazhenov was unpleasantly surprised. The Academy of Arts, where by that time the authorities had changed, he was no longer needed, he was not awarded the title of professor, and even they were forced to prove his professionalism in the form of a trial free project.

However, nothing can resist real talent. The project was created in the shortest possible time. He caused so much admiration and enthusiasm that the imperial family drew attention to the young architect.

Catherine the Great instructed Bazhenov to develop a plan for the first women's educational institution in Russia, located at the Smolny Monastery, and the heir to the throne entrusted the architect to build his own palace on Kamenny Island. And although such luck could bring the architect a lot of money and recognition, he suffered a complete fiasco.

His project for a women's institute was praised but rejected, and the construction of the Kamennoostrovsky Palace was entrusted to several more talented craftsmen, so that the name of the novice Bazhenov was lost in the crowd of distinguished architects.

Further, another disappointment befell the skilled artisan. Empress Catherine ordered the reconstruction of the Moscow Kremlin. Vasily Ivanovich's project was approved again, but then problems began - ancient monuments could have been damaged due to digging pits.

What was the consolation of the unlucky master?! Ekaterina's favorite, Grigory Orlov, secured for his friend the rank of captain and the position of chief architect in the artillery list. In this position, the architect created several military buildings and began the construction of majestic structures.

Residence Tsaritsyno

One of such important imperial orders was a ten-year construction project for a palace and park ensemble in the south of Moscow. The architect Vasily Ivanovich Bazhenov gave his whole soul to him.

He lived at the construction site with the whole family, bought materials himself, selected workers himself, managed finances himself.

It is noteworthy that during the construction of the palace, the architect did not adhere to a certain style. He easily and boldly combined baroque with gothic, notes of folklore with state symbols.

The Empress was delighted with the architect’s project, she called him “my Bazhenov” and wanted to see a worthy residence in Tsaritsyno for her pleasures as soon as possible.

The master tried his best. In accordance with the tastes of the empress, as well as his own, he abandoned the monumentality and majesty of a single palace, creating a real town from white stone and red brick (such materials that are so distinctive from each other). The building ensemble included several magnificent palace buildings for the imperial family, as well as various original and elegant houses for the nobility and servants. All this was decorated with other, small and exquisite objects located in the park area: Figured Gates, Cavalier buildings, the Opera House, the Big Bridge, the Bread House. Let's take a closer look at these structures.

figured bridge

This part of the palace complex, located on a steep slope, was perceived as an entrance gate, unobtrusively hiding the panorama of the entire building ensemble.

Made of red brick on the principle of a viaduct and decorated with a variety of geometric reliefs and St. George's crosses, the bridge became an echo of chivalrous times and old romantic legends.

It has survived to this day unrebuilt, vividly reflecting the power of the talent of its creator.

Cavalry corps

This is the name of three buildings in Tsaritsyno, very similar to each other: small in size, one-story in height, with obvious geometric proportions.

The first of them has the shape of a square with a flaw, the second is built in the form of an octagon, and the third is a round structure, erected in the form of a semi-rotunda.

It was this building, built on a hill and crowned with a belvedere turret, made so elegantly and luxuriously that the empress herself used it.

The story of other buildings of the architect Bazhenov erected in Tsaritsyno is sad and dull. For subjective reasons, Catherine the Great did not like them, and she ordered them to be destroyed. Most likely, the decision of the empress was influenced by Masonic symbols, which the famous architect used in the design. Or the empress did not like the genius himself by his frequent communication with the heir to the throne.

Be that as it may, Bazhenov was removed from construction and fell into disfavor. The main architect of Tsaritsyn was his student - Matvey Kazakov.

Private buildings

After his disgrace, Vasily Ivanovich began designing for private individuals. Among the works orally attributed to his authorship, one can note the Pashkov House - an impressive building erected on an elevated hill.

In relation to the main street, the house is set somewhat sloping, which makes it more special and unusual in appearance. The mansion, having a “P”-shaped layout, impresses with its splendor and interesting silhouette. The principle of contrast applied by the architect is also impressive, where the large and small sizes of the entire complex are contrasted.

The design of the facades of the Pashkov house is also noteworthy - a large order, three porticoes, a colonnade, a balustrade, a belvedere. All this harmoniously combines into one, aspiring composition.

Another private building of the architect Bazhenov is Dolgov's house, decorated with a Doric order in the form of a facade decoration with pilasters.

The windows of the estate are distinguished by their large volumes, crowned with massive cornices and decorative attics.

religious buildings

The building, lined with white stone, has two floors and combines a fantastic combination of Gothic and Baroque forms.

The church in Bykovo, designed by the architect Bazhenov, is equipped with a magnificent, imposing two-way staircase and a light rotunda, decorated with a high spire. The interior and exterior decor of the temple is unusually rich and varied.

The fate of the master

How did the life of the great architect end? Having experienced several bitter disappointments and failures, having lost his son and royal favor, in his old age, Vasily Bazhenov was treated kindly by Paul I. He was given an honorary position at the Academy of Arts and offered to engage in landmark architectural research. The talented architect was ready to give his all to a new important business.

Perhaps he could do a lot and achieve a lot. But his life was cut short. At the age of sixty-two, surrounded by caring and loving children, Vasily Ivanovich Bazhenov died.

Born in the Maloyaroslavsky district of the Kaluga province. The son of the deacon of the palace church.

He received his initial education at the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy in Moscow. He attended the architectural school of D. Ukhtomsky, who enrolled him in the gymnasium at Moscow University. He continued his education at the gymnasium at the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, then in the architectural class of the Academy of Arts, becoming one of the first students of the newly formed Academy and one of the first pensioners sent abroad. In 1760-1762 he studied at the Paris Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. Improved skills in Italy. With a solid education and fame, being a member of the Parisian and several Italian academies, in 1765 he returned to St. Petersburg. He worked as a chief architect in the artillery department.

Since 1767 he worked in Moscow in the Expedition of the Kremlin buildings. Author of two grandiose but unfinished projects. The first is the project of the Kremlin Palace, which Bazhenov began to work on in 1767 on the orders of Catherine II. According to the architect's plan, the entire Kremlin and Red Square were to undergo restructuring and reconstruction: the walls and towers were demolished, the new solemn palace was to become the center of the Kremlin, and all the main radial streets were to converge on the square in front of it. For several years, the architect created a model of a new palace, some buildings, towers and walls were demolished, a solemn laying of the palace was made. But Catherine II stopped and then banned all work in the Kremlin.

The second project suffered the same fate. In 1775, Bazhenov received an order from Catherine II for the construction of a palace in Tsaritsyn near Moscow. Bazhenov and his family moved to the damp places of Tsaritsyn and devoted several years to work on the palace. He completed the Grand Palace and more than ten buildings that were part of the ensemble, laid out a landscape park, and built picturesque bridges. In 1785, Catherine II stopped this construction as well, ordering to demolish the already built palace. Bazhenov, left without funds, returned to Moscow and opened the School of Architecture.

The empress did not go unnoticed by Bazhenov's connection with the Masons and his closeness to the Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, which largely explains her dissatisfaction with the architect.

In 1792, Bazhenov had to move to St. Petersburg, where he took a modest position as an architect at the Admiralty. He now built mainly in Kronstadt.

With the accession to the throne of Pavel - the patron of Bazhenov, his life changed dramatically. In 1799 he was appointed first vice-president of the Academy of Arts. But this year was the last in his life.

Architect V.I. Bazhenov built a palace in Pavlovsk, a fortress in Gatchina, Pashkov's house in Moscow, the Petrovsky Palace, etc. No less valuable than his completed buildings are his drawings and drawings, where the ideas and projects of the architect were embodied.

The architect M. Kazakov was a student, assistant and worthy successor of Bazhenov's ideas.

He is married to the daughter of a Moscow merchant, Agrafena Lukinichna Dolgova. Had children: Olga, Nadezhda, Vera, Konstantin, Vladimir, Vsevolod. One of the sons died in Tsaritsyn.

The architect died in St. Petersburg from paralysis. Buried in the village of Glazovo.

Bazhenov Vasily Ivanovich (1737 or 1738-1799), architect.

Born March 12, 1737 or 1738 in the village of Dolskoy near Maloyaroslavets (Kaluga province); according to other sources, in Moscow.

And Bazhenov's youth passed among the ancient buildings of the Moscow Kremlin, where his father served as a sexton in one of the churches. Initially, he received in the "architectural team" of D. V. Ukhtomsky. This was followed by admission to the gymnasium at Moscow University.

In 1758, Bazhenov brilliantly passed the entrance exams to the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. At the end of his studies in 1760, as the best student, he was sent to Italy for academic funds.

Returning to Moscow in 1765, the architect received the title of academician for the project of a "pleasure house in Yekateringof", and two years later he began to create a grandiose project for the Kremlin Palace in Moscow (1767-1775). The complex included the imperial residence, the buildings of the Colleges, the Arsenal, the theater, the main square with an amphitheater for spectators, and the ancient cathedrals of the Kremlin were, as it were, framed by the latest buildings.

The project required enormous costs, which the country could not afford - there was a Russian-Turkish war of 1767-1774. In addition, the dismantling of the Kremlin wall that had begun (on which Bazhenov insisted) caused a sharp protest from the clergy. Very soon, Catherine II referred to constructive miscalculations and banned further construction.

Disappointment did not prevent the talented architect from continuing to implement new creative ideas, among which the palace and park ensemble in Tsaritsyn near Moscow (1775-1785) occupies a special place. The Tsaritsyno buildings combined elements of Gothic and Old Russian architecture. The fate of the estate in Tsaritsyn was also sad. Despite the beauty and originality of the architectural solution, Catherine, who arrived at the review of her residence near Moscow, ordered the demolition of a number of buildings of the ensemble, and entrusted the construction of the central palace to M.F. Kazakov, saying that Bazhenov’s construction was more like a prison than a palace.

After another failure, the architect plunged into work on the next project - the Pashkov House (1784-1786; now the old building of the Russian State Library). According to Bazhenov’s drawings, Dolgov’s house was built on 1st Meshchanskaya Street (1770), now Mira Avenue, the bell tower and the refectory of the Church of All Who Sorrow Joy on Bolshaya Ordynka and Yushkov’s house on Myasnitskaya Street (all 80s of the XVIII century) . In addition, the architect developed a project for the Mikhailovsky (Engineering) Castle in St. Petersburg (1792-1796); it was built in 1797-1800. architects V. F. Brenna and E. T. Sokolov.

(February 1737 - 02. 08. 1799) architecture style: Classicism. national historicism. Main architectural objects: project of the palace building in Yekateringofsky park; arsenal building on the street. Liteiny, St. Petersburg (now the building of judicial institutions); the building of the arsenal and the Senate on Znamenka, Moscow; Pashkov House (Library of the Rumyantsev Museum); palace in Tsaritsyn; Petrovsky Palace; Moscow Kremlin Reconstruction Project; Palace on Kamenny Island, Petersburg. The first "pensioner" of the Academy of Arts. Vice President of the Academy of Arts.

« I venture to mention here that I was already born as an artist. I learned to draw on the sand, on paper, on the walls ... By the way, in the winters I made chambers and statues from the snow, so that even now I would like to see».

The son of a deacon of one of the Kremlin court churches. He discovered a natural talent for art as a child, sketching all kinds of buildings in the ancient capital.

The boy was sent to the choristers in the Passion Monastery. All the same, he uncontrollably wanted to draw: “ I transferred all the saints from the church with my thoughts under the transitions to the walls and made them my composition, for which I was often caught and flogged».

At the age of 15, he himself found a teacher, a seedy painter who used to draw "instead of the right hand or left foot." Soon, both of them became participants in a huge and hasty state construction project - the wooden royal palace in Lefortovo on the outskirts of what was then Moscow burned to the ground, and Empress Elizabeth, who moved into an uncomfortable small building, ordered the palace to be rebuilt immediately. And he grew up again like in a fairy tale - in a little over a month!

At the construction site, his abilities were noticed. Prince D.V. Ukhtomsky, the chief Moscow architect, began to entrust him with independent work. A year later, Bazhenov's fate took a new turn: he was admitted to Moscow University. Soon a trustee of the university M.I. Shuvalov demanded that those who were appointed to study "arts" be sent to Petersburg. Obviously, they already pinned hopes on Bazhenov: they settled in the elegant Shuvalov palace, introduced it to the empress herself and gave it to the architect's workshop S.I. Chevakinsky. Here he showed his abilities for architecture to such an extent that the teacher of architecture S. I. Chevakinsky made a talented young man his assistant in the construction of St. Nicholas Naval Cathedral. He studies French, mathematics, diligently redraws orders from the book - classical antique columns with their ceilings, the alphabet of the architecture of that time. And in the summer he works at construction sites, which are led by his energetic mentor in St. Petersburg.

« Then I was the first to start the Academy of Arts", Bazhenov proudly asserted. In the Academy founded in the autumn of 1757, he was the eldest of the pupils, who had already mastered a lot, and for the younger ones he probably became not so much a comrade as the first teacher. In September 1759 Bazhenov (together with the painter Anton Losenko) was sent to Paris to develop his talent, becoming the first pensioner of the Academy of Arts to be sent abroad.

In France, Bazhenov for the first time saw not only on engravings and drawings that new architecture taught by academic mentors - Muscovite A.F. Kokorinov and a Parisian J.B. Vallin-Delamot: elegant and at the same time strict buildings of simple rectilinear outlines with uniform, clear rows of slender columns. This style would later be called classicism. The stormy feeling embodied in the dynamic and complex architecture of the Baroque was replaced by a clear mind and calm harmony, based on ancient traditions. The rules of the new style are taught to Bazhenov by the brilliant architect Charles de Vailly. " My comrades, the young French, they stole my projectors from me and greedily copied them”, Bazhenov later boasted. Apparently, even then he stood out among his fellow students with his ingenuity and vivid imagination.

Becoming a student of a professor Duval, Bazhenov started making models of architectural parts from wood and cork and made several models of famous buildings. In Paris, he made, with strict proportionality of parts, a model of the Louvre Gallery, and in Rome, a model of the Cathedral of St. Peter.

Upon his return to Russia, while living in Moscow, Bazhenov compiled a complete translation of all 10 books of Vitruvius' architecture, published in 1790-1797. Petersburg, in the printing house of the Imperial Academy of Arts. Thoroughly familiar with his art theoretically, Bazhenov was one of the best practical builders of his time, differing as much in the art of planning as in the elegance of the form of the designed buildings, which he showed upon his very return to his fatherland, to the triumph of the "inauguration" of the building of the Academy of Arts (29 June 1765). He owned the decoration of the main facade of the building from the Neva. Later, Catherine II instructed Bazhenov to develop project of the Institute for Noble Maidens at the Smolny Monastery. The architect fulfilled this order in the shortest possible time. The majestic and graceful composition amazed many with its architectural ingenuity, an organic combination of diverse traditional forms of Russian architecture. But, unfortunately, the matter was limited to praises. The project remained unfulfilled. After long delays, preference was given to the architect's project Quarenghi.

Project of the current building palace in Yekateringofsky park, with greenhouses, a menagerie, carousels and other luxury undertakings of that time, was composed by Bazhenov according to the academic program, for the degree of professor. The implementation was recognized by the Council of the Academy as quite worthy, but the author of the project was left with the title of academician, which he received three years earlier, when he was abroad. In addition to damage to self-esteem, such injustice seriously affected the financial situation.

Bazhenov takes a dismissal from the academic service, and the prince G. G. Orlov appointed him to his artillery department as the chief architect, with the rank of captain. In this position, Bazhenov built in St. Petersburg arsenal building on Liteinaya st. (now the building of judicial institutions), and in Moscow, in the Kremlin, the building of the arsenal and the Senate on Znamenka, Pashkov's house(Library of the Rumyantsev Museum), and in the vicinity of the capital - Palace in Tsaritsyn and Petrovsky Palace, built by Kazakov - his assistant.

Count Orlov advised Bazhenov to develop an unusual, daring project, so that through him, Orlov, he would propose to the Empress to begin construction of a building that would arouse general interest. Bazhenov did not promise anything, but he did not refuse the offer. While Kremlin was in extreme desolation and dilapidation, and most importantly, its ancient architecture seemed to enlightened people of the 18th century disorderly and shapeless. Bazhenov dared to offer his version of the palace. But only on a different scale: “... from a simple perestroika, he created a gigantic architectural idea, which boiled down to building the entire Kremlin in one continuous palace, inside which all the Kremlin cathedrals with Ivan the Great were supposed to find themselves.” Bazhenov's idea shocked Orlov, but he doubted the reality of such grandiose plans. By the summer of 1768, Bazhenov completed work on the sketches, began the reconstruction project itself, to create a large model of the Kremlin Palace. Preparations for construction began. In July, a special expedition was already established to build the palace. It was headed by Lieutenant General Izmailov. After a thorough examination of the Kremlin buildings and a detailed development of construction plans, the members of the expedition began to draw up an estimate. According to preliminary estimates, twenty or, in extreme cases, thirty million rubles should have been required. The expedition settled in the Kremlin itself, in the small Poteshny Palace. Here was the architect's apartment, where he soon brought his young wife. And next to it, a wooden one-story building with a vast octagonal hall was hastily built - the Model House. Then they made a huge wooden model of the future Kremlin . The model, according to Bazhenov, is "half of the practice", that is, the finished building, which will allow you to check the correctness of its composition and proportions. The model impressed everyone, even people who were skeptical or distrustful of the Bazhenov project. A lot of things hurt. And the manufacturing technique, and the dimensions of the model themselves. They were such that several people could walk around in the courtyards. In its proportions, the model mathematically exactly matched the dimensions of the future palace. The facade of the main building of the palace conceived by Bazhenov had a complex articulation: the two lower floors were united by a continuous horizontal rustication and a cornice. They separate the upper floors. The first two floors are a kind of pedestal for the top two. They are united by decorative decoration and columns into one whole. The entablature is decorated with sculpture. It is supported by fourteen columns. There are ten columns on both sides of the central ledge. Behind them are two-column ledges. There are graceful vases in the niches of the walls. The entire facade of the central building was a bright image, as if the richest and most beautiful architectural decoration. The inner facade of the main building, overlooking the courtyard, had almost the same richly decorated design. The circumference was impressive - a huge semicircle with a high four-stage plinth, numerous marble columns. The circumference was connected to the main building. In this place - an entrance with three beautiful arches. The richly decorated entrance was framed by columns. From the other end, the circumference was connected to the theater. A special effect was produced by its main entrance, from which wide intersecting staircases ran. The walls of the theater are decorated with Ionic columns. No less impressive is the interior design, especially the central hall of the palace, which is impressive in its size. The model and the unprecedented project were talked about with enthusiasm and envy in the European royal courts. However, in the spring of 1771, work had to be stopped: an epidemic of the plague descended on Moscow. Tough, but little effective measures of the authorities aroused the discontent of the townspeople. A riot broke out, the Moscow Archbishop Ambrose was killed, the crowd smashed his chambers in the Kremlin, a stone's throw from the Model House. Bazhenov was afraid for the fate of his precious model, built of dry wood. But the rebellion was suppressed in two days, the model survived, while the epidemic subsided only by winter. The following summer, a new stage of work began - they dug a foundation pit for the palace foundation, which was laid a year later in an even more solemn atmosphere. But the years passed, and the construction did not rise above the foundation - there were not enough funds. In the spring of 1775, the empress ordered that the foundation pit be filled up, which means that work should be stopped. The offended Bazhenov refused to lead the backfilling of the pit: "I leave it to the one who will be elected for the good." In the meantime, he built wooden pavilions outside the city, on the Khodynka field, to celebrate the victory over the Turks. Fanciful buildings of non-classical, relatively oriental architecture symbolize Taganrog, Kerch, Azov and other cities that went to Russia after the victory. Ekaterina liked the elegant unusual buildings. This is how she wanted to see her new estate - Tsaritsyno, just bought near Moscow

Designing Tsaritsyno Palace on the slope of a hill descending to a large pond, Bazhenov arranged, it would seem, in a free order, many relatively small buildings made of red brick. He wanted to decorate them with colored tiles, in the manner of old Moscow buildings. But the empress rejected this idea, and then the red brick was effectively set off by inserts of carved white stone. One felt in the appearance of Tsaritsyn some kind of artificial antiquity, a conditional, almost toy Middle Ages. In those days, all medieval architecture, not yet distinguishing between eras and countries, was called "Gothic". The classicists considered it "wrong", distorted by the ignorance of the previous builders, but it still attracted Bazhenov. True, during the construction of Tsaritsyn, he did not adhere to any particular style: he freely combined the lancet windows of Western European Gothic with the patterned brickwork of Russian buildings of the 17th century, used state symbols in the white stone carving - here is the monogram of Catherine, and the double-headed state eagle. For ten years Bazhenov built Tsaritsyno. Every spring, he moved there with his family from a recently purchased city house to be constantly at work. Here, unlike the Kremlin, he did everything himself: managed finances, bought materials in advance, hired workers. Construction grew, and money came from St. Petersburg more and more slowly. Vasily Ivanovich now and then turned out to be guilty. In addition, they were tortured by debts, litigation. He was tired, at forty he felt like an old man. In the damp Tsaritsyn, children fell ill, the youngest son died ... In the summer of 1785, the Empress finally arrived and visited the almost finished estate, which she knew only from the drawings. Elegant houses seemed to her small and cramped - everything looked more impressive on paper. She ordered to rebuild Tsaritsyno and transferred the construction to Kazakov. The palace in Tsaritsyn was not destroyed immediately. MM. Izmailov tried to find a way out of the situation, to somehow help Bazhenov. He worried about his friend and Kazakov. Colleagues agreed: Bazhenov, without special permission, will make a new version of the palace and present his own before he does it Kazakov. But nothing came of it, again the work was wasted. Catherine rejected Bazhenov's work. In February 1786, an order came "on the dismantling of the main building in the village of Tsaritsyno to the ground and on the production later (of a new building) according to the plan again confirmed by the architect Kazakov." Kazakov, in his version of the palace, tried to preserve, as far as possible, the style of old Russian architecture chosen by Bazhenov. But he was also unlucky. The palace was designed with three floors, with an emphasis on the central part of the building. However, in the course of construction, much had to be redone, as appropriations were constantly cut. The result is a big difference between the project and the completed building.

Worthy of special mention Pashkov House in Moscow (1780s). The palace flaunts on a high hill opposite the Moscow Kremlin - now it is the old building of the library of the former Rumyantsev Museum. Meanwhile, the task of the architect was difficult: the site is uneven, on the one hand steeply going downhill, and on the other - sharply tapering. However, Bazhenov managed to turn its inconveniences into advantages: he installed elegant gates at the narrow end, through which a view of the house opens, while the facade is widely deployed on the edge of the hill above the garden descending to the city - a decision that not coincidentally echoes the Kremlin's restructuring project. Bazhenov created here in the literal sense of the word a castle-fairy tale. A great connoisseur and connoisseur of Russian architecture I. Grabar wrote: “ It is difficult to find a more perfect ratio of all parts of a single structure, something that has been achieved here.". The opinion of Russians and foreigners was unanimous "Pashkov's house" is a pearl of Russian architecture. Connoisseurs of architecture emphasized that for all the sophistication of compositional techniques, the artist's idea is distinguished by courage, a flight of fantasy and, at the same time, thoughtfulness of the smallest details. This is equally characteristic of the composition as a whole and the interior layout of the premises, as well as the external design.

Bazhenov did not receive another appointment, and, left without sufficient means of subsistence, he opened an art institution and took up private buildings. The change in his official career and the disfavor of Catherine the Great is explained by his relations with the Novikov circle, which instructed him to report to the heir to the Tsarevich about his choice by the Moscow Masons as the supreme master. In these relations with the Tsarevich, Catherine suspected political goals, and her anger fell on Bazhenov earlier than on others, but things did not go beyond exclusion from the service, and in 1792 he was again accepted into the service of the Admiralty Board and transferred his activities to Petersburg. Bazhenov built a palace and a church for his heir on Kamenny Island and designed various special buildings for the fleet in Kronstadt.

Palace on Stone Island. Bazhenov quickly fulfilled this order. The palace was built in the style of classicism. It was later rebuilt. But there is evidence of a French traveler who saw the building in its original version: “It is very beautiful, especially due to its location (on the banks of the Neva). The lower floor is raised by several steps. Here we see, firstly, a large hall decorated with arabesques, then an oval-shaped hall, which, with its great length, seems a little narrow; the decorative part in it is very simple. To the right - a room from which the door leads to a small theater, quite beautiful ... The facade to the garden is decorated with columns. At the end of the garden is a small chapel built of brick: the Gothic style, which was tried to be imitated in its construction, produces a beautiful effect.

Upon accession to the throne, Paul I appointed him vice-president of the Academy of Arts and instructed him to draw up a project for the Mikhailovsky Castle, prepare a collection of drawings of Russian buildings for the historical study of Russian architecture, and, finally, provide an explanation on the question: what should be done to inform the proper course development of the talents of Russian artists at the Academy of Arts. Bazhenov enthusiastically began to carry out the gracious orders of the monarch, the patron of Russian art, and, no doubt, he could have done a lot if death had not stopped him.

Vasily Ivanovich Bazhenov was born in February 1737 in the family of Ivan Bazhenov, who served in the village of Dolsky, Maloyaroslavsky district, Kaluga province. When the boy was only three months old, his parents moved to Moscow.

“I venture to mention here that I was already born as an artist. I learned to draw on the sand, on paper, on the walls, - Bazhenov himself told about himself. “By the way, in winter I made chambers and statues from snow, which I would like to see now.” But the boy was sent to the choristers in the Passion Monastery: according to the

oh tradition, he should have followed in his father's footsteps. But Bazhenov uncontrollably wanted to draw: “I transferred the saints from the church with my thoughts under the transitions to the walls and made my composition, for which I was often put up and flogged.”

And the boy, nevertheless, achieved his goal - in 1753 Vasily was accepted into the architectural team,

led by Ukhtomsky. Accepted but not credited. He does not appear anywhere in the lists of Ukhtomsky's students. Vasily, apparently, was assigned there as a free listener. Dmitry Vasilyevich highly appreciated Bazhenov's abilities, but, knowing about his plight, he preferred to release his

pupil from compulsory classes and often gave him the opportunity to earn extra money. At the request of state institutions and individuals, he sent Vasily as a gazelle (apprentice) to construction sites to draw up estimates, to inspect buildings in need of restructuring or repair.

A year later in the fate of Vasya

Lia took a new turn: he was admitted to Moscow University. And when “the Academy of Arts was founded in St. Petersburg, and the chief chamberlain Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov, who was in charge of it, demanded from Moscow University several pupils capable of fine arts, then Bazhenov was called

started first among those and sent to St. Petersburg, ”says the first biographer of Bazhenov E. Bolkhovitinov.

Academic students were on full government support. In addition to the sciences of art, students of the academy were taught history, anatomy, mythology, mathematics, and foreign languages. P

On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, lessons were held in the “Drawing Chamber”. They were led by the sculptor Gillet, the painter Lelorin, the draftsman Moreau, and the engraver Schmidt. They were skilled craftsmen. They helped found the Russian academic school of painting and brought up a galaxy of talented artists. Bazhenov was lucky with the teacher

ateliers and architectural sciences. He studied under the guidance of talented architects S.I. Chevakinsky and A.F. Kokorinov.

“Then I was the first to start the Academy of Arts,” Bazhenov proudly asserted. In the Academy founded in the autumn of 1757, he was the eldest of the pupils, who had already mastered a lot,

and for the younger ones he probably became not so much a comrade as the first teacher.

Three years later, Bazhenov travels abroad with the young painter Anton Losenko. The St. Petersburg Academy of Arts assigned its pensioners 350 rubles a year for maintenance. For 50-60 francs a month in Paris is not very

you're going for a walk. For the same reason, Bazhenov and Losenko were forced to rent a rather modest room in the outskirts of Paris, in a cheap quarter.

In France, for the first time, Bazhenov saw, not only in engravings and drawings, that new architecture, which, of course, his academic mentors had already talked about.

The rules of the new style are taught to Bazhenov by the brilliant architect Charles de Vailly. “My comrades, the young French, stole my projectors from me and copied them greedily,” Bazhenov later said. Apparently, even then he stood out among his fellow students with his ingenuity and vivid imagination.

About one and a half

years flew by unnoticed. During this time, the unattractive dwelling of the envoys of the St. Petersburg Academy was somewhat transformed, it was decorated with numerous drawings, miniature models made by Bazhenov, his sketches, drawings, projects.

Exams at the Paris Academy were more than successful.

Bazhenov, well prepared, dared to go first. He presented to the examiners a model of the Louvre Colonnade, made with jeweler's precision. He also presented drawings, drawings, etchings. And he also conquered Parisian celebrities with his erudition, violent imagination.

Rumor about the creative successes of Bazhenov and L

Osenko, about their success in studies came to St. Petersburg. There, too, an exam was arranged, only in absentia, on the basis of the works sent by pensioners. The ratings were the highest.

A notice was sent to Paris saying that "Losenko should be in Moscow, and Bazhenov should be in Rome for the winter." Bazhenov received a two-year

th foreign passport, packed his things, said goodbye to teachers and Losenko and at the end of October 1762 went on a trip to Italy to further get acquainted with European culture, study architectural styles and architectural monuments of various eras.

But a year and a half in Italy is not easy to get

to the nervous, impressionable Bazhenov. There was not enough money, sparingly and out of time sent from St. Petersburg, he was alone, he was deceived, he was even attacked by robbers ... Bazhenov made it to Paris with difficulty and remained here until the academy deigned to pay his debts and the road home.

Zhenov returned to his homeland on May 2, 1765. He came to St. Petersburg right to the big celebration in honor of the new charter of the Academy of Arts. But the Academy offended Bazhenov. They sewed a dress uniform for him, for which they later demanded money, promoted him to academician, but a long-promised professorial position, which means

And the salary was not assigned. The leadership that had changed here did not need him. In addition, Bazhenov was given a test, from which other academicians were spared - they offered to create a small project to confirm the high rank ... He completed it with brilliance and scope, far surpassing the given speed

my program.

Later, Catherine instructed Bazhenov to develop a project for the Institute for Noble Maidens at the Smolny Monastery. The architect fulfilled this order in the shortest possible time. The majestic and graceful composition amazed many with architectural ingenuity, an organic combination of diverse traditions

traditional forms of Russian architecture. But, unfortunately, the matter was limited to praises. The project remained unfulfilled. After lengthy delays, preference was given to the project of the architect Quarenghi.

The visit to the Small Yard did not go unnoticed. Fascinated by the stories of Bazhenov, Tsarevich Pavel caught fire

I wish to build my palace on Stone Island. Bazhenov quickly fulfilled this order. The palace was built in the style of classicism. It was later rebuilt. But there is evidence of a French traveler who saw the building in its original version: “It is very beautiful, especially since

giving its location (on the banks of the Neva). The lower floor is raised by several steps. Here we see, firstly, a large hall decorated with arabesques, then an oval-shaped hall, which, with its great length, seems a little narrow; the decorative part in it is very simple. To the right is the room from which

The horn door leads to a small theatre, rather beautiful... The facade to the garden is decorated with columns. At the end of the garden is a small chapel built of brick: the Gothic style, which was tried to be imitated in its construction, produces a beautiful effect.

Finally, Grigory Orlov, commander of artillery and

fortification, invited Bazhenov to his service, asking him from the empress for an unexpected rank of captain of artillery for an architect. Together with the patron and the entire royal court, Bazhenov left St. Petersburg and at the beginning of 1767 returned to his native Moscow.

Bazhenov got married shortly after his arrival in Moscow.

His wife was Agrafena Lukinichna Krasukhina, the daughter of a Kashira nobleman who died early. Meanwhile, Catherine II "fell ill" with architecture. Orlov decided to take advantage of this. He made attempts to restore his lost positions at court, to oust the active Potemkin. Therefore, Orlov advised

Bazhenov to develop an unusual, daring project, so that through him, Orlov, he would propose to the Empress to begin construction of a building that would arouse general interest.

Bazhenov did not promise anything, but he did not refuse the offer. At that time, the Kremlin was in extreme desolation and dilapidation, and most importantly, its

ancient architecture seemed to the enlightened people of the 18th century to be disorderly and shapeless. Bazhenov dared to offer his version of the palace. But only on a different scale: from a simple perestroika, he created a gigantic architectural idea, which boiled down to building the entire Kremlin with one continuous palace, inside

three of which were supposed to be all the Kremlin cathedrals with Ivan the Great. Bazhenov's idea shocked Orlov, but he doubted the reality of such grandiose plans.

By the summer of 1768, Bazhenov completed work on sketches and began the reconstruction project itself, creating a large model of the Kremlin

palace. Preparations for construction began. In July, a special expedition was already established to build the palace. It was headed by Lieutenant General Izmailov. After a thorough examination of the Kremlin buildings and a detailed development of construction plans, the members of the expedition began to draw up an estimate.

According to preliminary estimates, twenty or, in extreme cases, thirty million rubles should have been required.

The expedition settled in the Kremlin itself, in the small Poteshny Palace. Here was the architect's apartment, where he soon brought his young wife. And next to it, a wooden one-story building was hastily built.

An important building with a vast octagonal hall is the Model House. Then they made a huge wooden model of the future Kremlin in it. The model, according to Bazhenov, is "half of the practice", that is, the finished building, which will allow you to check the correctness of its composition and proportions.

The model impressed everyone, even l

people who were skeptical or distrustful of the Bazhenov project. A lot of things were striking - both the manufacturing technique and the dimensions of the model themselves. They were such that several people could walk around in the courtyards. In its proportions, the model mathematically exactly matched the dimensions of the future

current palace.

The facade of the main building of the palace conceived by Bazhenov had a complex articulation. The two lower floors were united by a continuous horizontal rustication and cornice and served as a kind of pedestal for the two upper ones. All floors were united by decorative decoration and columns into one whole. Entable

The ent, decorated with sculpture, was supported by fourteen columns. On both sides of the central ledge - ten columns, behind them - two-column ledges. In the niches of the walls there were graceful vases. The entire facade of the central building was thus, as it were, the richest and most beautiful architectural decoration.

tion. The inner facade of the main building, overlooking the courtyard, had almost the same richly decorated design.

The circumference was impressive - a huge semicircle with a high four-stage plinth, numerous marble columns. The circumference was connected to the main building, there

there was an entrance with three beautiful arches. The richly decorated entrance was framed by columns. From the other end, the circumference was connected to the theater. A special effect was produced by its main entrance, from which wide intersecting staircases ran. The walls of the theater were decorated with Ionic columns.

less spectacular was the interior design, especially the central hall of the palace, which is impressive in its size. The model and the unprecedented project were talked about with enthusiasm and envy in the European royal courts.

However, in the spring of 1771, work had to be stopped: an epidemic of the plague descended on Moscow. F

tough, but little effective measures of the authorities aroused the discontent of the townspeople. A riot broke out, the stern Moscow Archbishop Ambrose was killed, the crowd smashed his chambers in the Kremlin, a stone's throw from the Model House. Bazhenov was afraid for the fate of his precious model, built of dry wood. But a riot at two d

I was suppressed, the model survived, the epidemic subsided only by winter.

The following summer, a new stage of work began with a holiday - they dug a foundation pit for the palace foundation, which was laid a year later in an even more solemn atmosphere. But the years passed, and the construction did not rise above the foundation - there were not enough funds.

In the spring of 1775, the empress ordered that the foundation pit be filled up, which means that work should be stopped. The offended Bazhenov refused to lead the backfilling of the pit: "I leave it to the one who will be elected for the good."

In the meantime, he built wooden pavilions outside the city, on the Khodynka field, to celebrate the victory over that

rkami. Fanciful buildings of non-classical, relatively oriental architecture symbolize Taganrog, Kerch, Azov and other cities that went to Russia after the victory.

Ekaterina liked the elegant unusual buildings. This is how she wanted to see her new estate - just bought near Moscow Tsaritsyn

about. On the slope of a hill descending to a large pond, Bazhenov arranged, it would seem, in a free order, many relatively small buildings made of red brick. He wanted to decorate them with colored tiles, in the manner of old Moscow buildings. But the empress rejected this idea, and then the red brick

ich was effectively set off by inlays of carved white stone.

Some kind of artificial antiquity, a conventional, almost toy Middle Ages, was felt in the guise of Tsaritsyn. In those days, all medieval architecture, not yet distinguishing between eras and countries, was called "Gothic". The classicists considered it "nepr

agile, distorted by the ignorance of the former builders, but it still attracted Bazhenov. True, during the construction of Tsaritsyn, he did not adhere to any particular style: he freely combined the lancet windows of the Western European Gothic with the patterned brickwork of Russian buildings of the 17th century, used in

white-stone carving of state symbols - here is the monogram of Catherine, and the double-headed state eagle.

For ten years Bazhenov built Tsaritsyno. Every spring, he moved there with his family from a recently purchased city house to be constantly at work. Here, unlike the Kremlin, he

lal himself: managed finances, bought materials in advance, hired workers. Construction grew, and money came from St. Petersburg more and more slowly. Vasily Ivanovich now and then turned out to be guilty. In addition, they were tortured by debts, litigation. He was tired, at forty he felt like an old man. In the queen's cheese

the children did not get sick, the youngest son died ...

In the summer of 1785, the empress finally arrived and visited the almost finished estate, which she knew only from drawings. Elegant houses seemed to her small and cramped - everything looked more impressive on paper. She ordered to rebuild Tsaritsyno and transferred the construction to K

The palace in Tsaritsyn was not destroyed immediately. MM. Izmailov was trying to find a way out of the situation in order to somehow help Bazhenov. He worried about his friend and Kazakov. Colleagues agreed: Bazhenov, without special permission, will make a new version of the palace and present his earlier

What will Kazakov do? But nothing came of it, again the work was wasted. Catherine rejected Bazhenov's work, without even getting to know her properly. In February 1786, an order came “on dismantling the main building built in the village of Tsaritsyno to the ground and on production later (but

building) according to the newly confirmed plan made by the architect Kazakov.

Kazakov, in his version of the palace, tried to preserve, as far as possible, the style of old Russian architecture chosen by Bazhenov. But he was also unlucky. The palace was designed with three floors, with an emphasis on the central part of the building.

However, in the course of construction, much had to be redone, as appropriations were constantly cut. The result is a big difference between the project and the completed building.

Vasily Ivanovich turned out to be practically removed from the Tsaritsyno construction. He got a year's sick leave

and: eyesight worsened, heart and nerves played pranks. In December 1786, Bazhenov asked Count A.A. Bezborodko, the first secretary of the Empress for the acceptance of petitions, to extend the leave with the preservation of salary in order to finally improve his health. In case of refusal, Bazhenov also agreed to resign, “but with a pension

it, like all loyal subjects of Her Imperial Majesty, use it, because, as your Excellency knows, I do not have as much maintenance as for my large family, and, moreover, to pay debts, it is necessary. The request was granted.

Even before his second, Tsaritsyn, disaster, the architect

new friends appeared who helped to overcome spiritual turmoil and despair. These were the Masons. Bazhenov had long been acquainted with the heir to the throne, Pavel Petrovich, and when he came to St. Petersburg, he handed over Masonic books printed in Moscow to him. Suspicious Catherine II accused the Masons of being x

otyat "catch" the heir to his sect, subdue him. It was a state crime. Nikolai Novikov, a journalist and publisher who once accepted Bazhenov into the Masonic Order, suffered the most. The architect himself was not touched, but the queen did not find any more work for him.

Of course, Vasily I

Vanovich carried out not only royal orders, but, unfortunately, much less is known about them: the papers of the architect and most of his customers have not been preserved. It is authentically known that in the 1780s Bazhenov built a house for the rich man P.E. Pashkov. The palace flaunts on a high hill against the Moscow Kremlin - those

This is the old building of the Russian State Library. Meanwhile, the task of the architect was difficult: the site is uneven, on the one hand steeply going downhill, and on the other - sharply tapering. However, Bazhenov managed to turn his inconveniences into advantages: he put elegant gates at the narrow end, with

through which a view of the house opens, the facade is widely deployed on the edge of the hill above the garden descending to the city - a decision that not accidentally echoes the project for the reconstruction of the Kremlin.

Bazhenov created here in the literal sense of the word a castle-fairy tale. A great connoisseur and connoisseur of Russian architecture I. Grabar

wrote: "It is difficult to find a more perfect ratio of all parts of a single structure than that which has been achieved here."

The opinion of Russians and foreigners was unanimous: "Pashkov House" is a pearl of Russian architecture. Connoisseurs of architecture emphasized that, despite the sophistication of compositional techniques,

The artist's idea is distinguished by courage, a flight of fancy and, at the same time, thoughtfulness of the smallest details. This is equally characteristic of the composition as a whole and the interior layout of the premises, as well as for the external design.

In 1792, Bazhenov had to move to St. Petersburg, to a modest home.

the position of architect at the Admiralty. He now built, mainly in Kronstadt - barracks, a sugar factory, forest sheds, and often according to drawings used more than once - it was necessary to save public money most of all, and the artistic qualities of such buildings of Admiralty officials did not at all

interested. That is why they did not accept the last big project of the architect - the reconstruction after the fire of the galley harbor on Vasilyevsky Island in St. Petersburg: it was "very extensive and magnificent", and therefore expensive ...

Catherine II died in 1796. Pavel Bazhenov's longtime patron became emperor

ohm. Vasily Ivanovich immediately received from him an important rank and a village with a thousand souls of serfs. Extensive creative possibilities opened up before him again... At the beginning of 1799, the emperor made another gift to the architect: he appointed him vice-president of the Academy of Arts - a position that was introduced with

especially for Bazhenov. So he returned victorious to his Academy, which rejected him more than thirty years ago.

And the strength returned. The sixty-year-old vice-president was eager to renovate the decrepit Academy, to educate young artists, to look for talents. But he has time for this

Turns out it didn't exist anymore. In the summer of 1799, Bazhenov was paralyzed.

At the end of July, on one of the white nights, Vasily Ivanovich asked the children - Olenka, Nadezhda, Vera, Vladimir, Vsevolod and the eldest of his sons, Konstantin - to gather at his bedside to make a farewell speech. 2 august great archi